Almost 700 rockets and 470 mortars fired from Gaza have
struck southern Israel since the beginning of the year.

• Selected statements by Hamas leaders
Ahmed Yousef, chief political advisor to Hamas Prime
Minister Ismail Haniyeh to "Der Spiegel" (2 Feb 2008):
"If the Israelis want our blood, I’m willing to sacrifice
my children."
From interview with former Hamas foreign minister Mahmoud
A-Zahar (21 Aug 2007): Rocket barrage of Sderot is Hamas
strategy.• Monthly distribution of identified rocket hits
during the past year:
Rocket fire from the Gaza Strip continues as the preferred modus operandi of the Palestinian terrorist organizations. Most of the rockets are locally manufactured and have an approximate maximum range of 9 kilometers (6 miles), although some have a range of 12.5 kilometers (7 ¾ miles). In addition, also launched were a number of standard 122 mm rockets with a range of 20.4 kilometers (12 2/3 miles) which had been smuggled into the Gaza Strip.
Since the disengagement there has been a sharp increase in the number of rockets launched at the western Negev. (Until the disengagement, massive rocket fire was aimed at the Israeli settlements in the Gaza Strip.) The preferred targets during 2006 were the city of Sderot and civilians living in settlements in the western Negev, although attempts were made to launch rockets as far away as Ashkelon.
In 2006, 861 rockets were fired at population centers in the western Negev, as compared with 222 in 2005 and 268 in 2004 (not including rockets fired at Israeli settlements inside the Gaza Strip).